Julian was looking at one of the photos from his wedding, the photo was taken the moment they kissed. He tucked the photo back into his rucksack, leaving it in the barracks. He wanted to keep his head clear, he had to focus on the mission, on the moment. He made his way to the helicopter, they were going to fly several miles from the compound, dive into the river and swim the rest of the way. There were only two helicopters available, Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks. Both aircraft would drop them off at their respective points of entry and circle back to the airfield.
Once everyone loaded up into the aircraft they took off, Jace thought back to the last time he was in a Black Hawk. It was a Special Reconnaissance mission in Kabul, they were tasked with observing growing militant groups and finding out if they were linked to Al-Qaeda or if they were on their own. They were not to engage unless fired upon. Suffice to say it was a memory that Jace would rather leave in the past. He snapped out of his reverie once they reached their POE.
As he's done many times before Jace rappeled into the water and let his training do the rest. They reached the docks, and Wesson and Reese raised their hands until they were above the water. Jace took his suppressed MK 25 raising it to the surface and fired, hitting a lone enemy sentry. The guard fell back, into the grasp of Wesson and Reese, silently sinking into the water.
Holloway radioed Patterson.
"Alpha-One to Bravo-One, We are in position, over."
"Acknowledged, Alpha-One you are clear for entry, Bravo-One out."
The platoon moved forward, since the ODA already had two snipers in position Jace was part of the main assault force. The rest of the ODA secured the north side of the complex, and half of the platoon continued forward while the rest secured the rest of the area. They had to move quickly they were already losing the cover of night. The snipers had taken care of the sentries on the roof. Everyone got into position, The ODA stood by the north entrance preparing to breach while the SEALs did the same on their end. The platoon divided into squads, Holloway, Jace, Reese, and Wesson surged forward to the objective.
They cleared the hallways making their way to the center, where the hostages were being held. They engaged six hostiles on their way but ultimately got to their objective without casualties. Jace signaled Wesson to breach the door and Holloway radioed the ODA.
"Alpha-One to Bravo team, we have reached the target and are ready to breach, over."
Both teams were ready to engage. "Three, two, one. Execute!"
Reese was first to go in, followed by Jace and Wesson with Holloway being last. Their Army counterparts did the same on their side.
"CLEAR!"
Jace tended to the injured hostage, CWO Mitchell translated:
"Estamos con Ejército de Los Estados Unidos. Estamos aquí para ayudar." 'We are with the United States Military. We're here to help.'
. . .
The agents and Marines had been briefed on the situation the moment they arrived. The Marines were being prepared for QRF duties and the agents were watching everything take place vis the operators' helmet and vest cameras. Ziva and Gibbs focused on Julian's camera. They watched as the teams evacuated the hostages, one of whom was on a stretcher. The operators rucked their way to the extraction point, the SWCC boats were ten minutes out.
"Looks like we had nothing to worry about," said McGee, exhaling in relief.
"They're not out of the fire yet," replied Gibbs.
Gibbs noticed Sharon sitting in the corner, he took a seat next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. It was a small gesture but comforting nonetheless.
. . .
The ride back to town was smooth, there were no signs of enemy combatants waiting for them. The Medical Sergeants took over treating the wounded hostages, aside from some moderate burns and lacerations, no injuries were requiring the attention of a doctor. Once they reach the Operations Center they debriefed the DOJ members. Julian and the rest of the enlisted operators went to the barracks while the officers and agents went over possible security breaches.
Jace was about to start unloading and securing his gear when Brooke caught up with him.
"Glad everything went well, the native wildlife aren't the only animals out there." said the EOD.
"Don't I know it," responded Jace, sensing that his friend had another thing she wanted to discuss. "Go ahead, it's better to get to the point."
"Despite what others might think you made the right call. I've known other women to be in the wrong position with other sailors."
Julian didn't interrupt, he knew that despite Brooke's stoicism she likely knew what it was like to be the odd one out.
"I've worked with men who wouldn't take the fact that there were no 'Boy's Clubs' anymore," said Brooke, honesty between the two was why they worked so well together. "Served under them too."
"Ballard was like a sister, when I looked at her I saw Kelly," Jace said, Lydia was one of the few people in his life to know about his mother and sister.
Brooke put a hand on his shoulder, a gesture he was very familiar with and was grateful for.
Their moment of peace was interrupted by the sounds of gunfire and grenades going off. They met up with the rest of the platoon and saw that the local police were attempting to defend the town against cartel forces. The ODA and MSOT were trying to help restore order and keep civilians out of the crossfire. Holloway was with the agents, attempting to defend the TOC from a truck loaded with cartel shooters.
Jace took charge, ordering the SEALs to form a wedge and return fire. They met up with Ziva, Holloway, and his father, everyone else was sheltering the civilians from harm's way. His father and Ziva were using MK 18s rather than their Sigs and had body armor on. This was standard in a combat environment, but the other NCIS agents seemed caught off guard.
"What's the plan, LT?"
"DEA FAST and FBI HRT are keeping the locals safe," shouted Holloway. "We need to drive the narcos out of town and go on the offensive!"
The SEALs took action, driving the cartel men to the outskirts of the town. The Critical Skills Operators and Soldiers drove them in the same direction, together they formed a line. The hostiles ran off either on foot or in trucks. The operators circled back to the TOC, the local police were assessing casualties.
"Should we go after them?" questioned Gunnery Sergeant Maxwell.
"Another time, we need to assess damages and tend to the injured," answered Patterson.
Julian, Holloway, Patterson, and MARSOC Captain Hale went to the TOC. They found the agents, mildly wounded but with no fatalities.
"They just gunned down our defenses," said Taylor. "We found the bodies of the cops assigned to work the protective detail around the town."
Patterson looked at the photos, he sat down. He picked up the photos.
"Damn, I trained these guys."
"Must've been gunned down before they radioed it in," said Jace.
The enlisted, minus Julian, went back to the barracks. Everyone sat down, going over the details: the Narcos involved and their involvement with terrorists.
"They're drug traffickers, smugglers, not a cartel," said Sharon. "The deal in transporting drugs, weapons, people. Anything to make a buck."
"Sounds like the type of people terrorists would deal with, they can get contraband into a country for their purposes," said Jace.
"Exactly, we traced their most recent dealings with the narcos we dealt with in Afghanistan."
Ziva came back, she had been talking to the Chief of Police.
"The Police Chief said that these guys are new," said Ziva. "Before the kidnapping, no one has heard of them."
"What was the ransom?" asked Gibbs.
"No ransom, they wanted all American forces out of the country within thirty hours," said Holloway.
"According to INTERPOL, these guys came into the mix about a year ago," said Taylor.
"It doesn't make sense, these guys are new to the game," interjected Julian. "What made them think that they could take on the U.S. government?"
"Chief's right, the guys we took on at the complex didn't seem to be very well trained or experienced," said Mitchell. "Plus the guys who just attacked may have been destructive but aside from the AKs and Uzis they weren't very well armed."
"He's right, they only did drive-bys and threw Molotov cocktails," said Ziva. "They only seemed like the muscle."
"So who're the brains of the operation?" asked the older Gibbs.